These posters won me a new designer award and launched my career with a position at Habitat in London. These days my focus is on my branding and packaging design work, however I still get the occasional commission to produce this illustrative, typographic style.

Branding, communication and conference material recently designed for ‘The Building Children’s Nursing for Africa’ conference, hosted by the Child Nurse Practice Development Initiative, University of Cape Town and Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital. The conference took place last month and it was fantastic to work with the team, and play a small part in the significant difference that they are making, training and up-skilling children's nurses throughout Africa.

This is my recent branding and packaging design concept for
Lukie’s Farmhouse and Wadmans Family Grocer. As the desire for us to be closer
to the makers of our produce increases, the popularity of farm foods continues
to grow, creating exciting new opportunities for small businesses to compete on
a wider scale and alongside more established producers.

Key to this success is to ensure that the products branding and packaging
design communicate your message, whilst understa...

I really enjoyed this article where Ilya Kalimulin has
recreated 30 household name brands for the Russian market. This is something
that has interested me for some time. You may need to translate this article,
but it is worth it! Read it here.

One of my recent branding and packaging design projects,
'LithaFlora' has been featured on packaging of the World website. The
project for long time collaborator, Yolanda Methvin, required
packaging for tea blends, bath salts and cleansing bars. The ‘Litha’
brand, (pronounced lee-tah) which means ‘star’ in Zulu, was created to look
both high-end and to imply the health benefits of the products. The packaging
needed to also be easily transferable across the range of different packagin...

A huge inflatable floating art sculpture called Kaws:
Holiday was recently towed into Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour. Huge crowds
flocked to see the 37 metre figure that is the work of American artist Kaws
(real name Brian Donnelly), renown for his characters with X’s
for eyes. The artist comented, saying that he hoped his work will help people
to relax. This particular character, named Companion, will remain in the harbor
for a month and plays a part in the city’s art festival.

Valencia FC’s 100th anniversary logo is being challenged by DC
Comics because of the likeness with in the bat symbol. DC Comics are making
their case, based on how the Spanish football club’s logo could cause confusion
and highlighting all of DC’s European trademarks as a focus. Valencia, however
have been using a bat in it’s crest since 1921. It will certainly be
interesting to see the developments in this story. More here.

I have to say I am very welcoming of a move by McDonalds in Singapore to introduce lockers for cell phones and to encourage eye contact, conversation and family time. This stance is backed by an advertising campaign, of which the two images at the beginning of this post are from and you can also view a clip from India below.

What a triumph, for a company of this size to make such a positive stance!

LIFE: Today marks the 50 year anniversary of the tragic death of English cyclist Tom Simpson at Le Tour De France...

As many of us follow this years Le Tour De France, I think its worth taking a couple of minutes to remember the contribution that Tom Simpson gave to British cycling. Today marks exactly 50 years since his tragic death on the 13th stage of the tour on Mont Ventoux. Tom was the equivalent of a Bradley Wiggins or even a Chris Froome of the time. He was voted BBC sports personalit...Continue reading ...

After last nights tragic news of the sudden
death of pop music icon Prince at just 57, I felt compelled to share how his
contribution to music, art and design had touched my life.

Last night I tuned into one of my favorite
internet radio shows and to my surprise, the station was playing back to back
Prince tunes. It was out of character for this station, but I wasn’t
complaining as Ive been a big fan of Prince over the years and continued to
listen, wondering if the DJ had scored an interv...

I can clearly remember the first time that
I ever tried authentic west country cider with strong cheddar cheese. I was
with my father and it was from a place that he called Lukie’s, in the mendip
region. On a recent trip back to the UK (I currently live in Cape Town), I
could clearly see that Lukie’s no longer existed… that’s even if it was called
Lukie’s in the first place as my dad seems remembers it as Luke’s, without the
‘I’

Anyone that knows me, knows that I’ve been
trying to redesign the egg box for a good many years now. After seemingly
always finding a broken egg in my box, I started to examine new materials and
design. My concept was that, even if the box cost a little more to mass
produce, would the world save on broken eggs? Its a project I’ve never quite
achieved an answer or too, or managed to execute on. That said, I was recently
in my local Woolworths and it looks as though their bright design mind... Continue reading ...

HAPS is a hardware store. Under the
marketing plan, a number of the measures have been proposed to the clients in
order to increase the buyer loyalty. One of these steps is a small promotional
gift fot the purchase. It has been supposed to make a present for the buyers
such as the bathroom accessories and tools needed for house...

At the end of 2016, as I draw closer to my
final week with CTTC Design, I had been handing over as much
information as I could to my then design team, to which I extend you all
on this list now. I know that many have often laughed at me being such a design
groupie… I promise that it comes from my love of what I do! To this end, before
I left, I had decided to note down a few of the things that have helped to
bring great joy, learning and passion to my design life over the years, and now
won... Continue reading ...

I am sure that many of you already know
that today is my last day with CTTC Design, before beginning an exciting new
role in 2017, (more on this soon).

When I left the UK for South Africa back in
2009, my brief was to help grow a fully operational design studio. It has taken
a lot of blood, sweat and tears and I have loved every single second of it! I
am so proud that today, not only have we achieved our objective, but I strongly
believe that we have a world class design team with some of Ca...

Whilst in the UK recently to attend a
family wedding in Nottingham, we popped into where my wife’s father was staying
for the event. It was on a beautiful red brick estate. As I walked through the
main entrance I noticed a bookshelf. Inside was a gem of a boys
annual, ‘Best Book For Boys’. Lucky the owner of the house was there and I
quickly asked her if she wouldn’t mind me photographic this rare publication.
As I flipped through, I could see that the edition was published by The
Ne... Continue reading ...

This fantastic reference book is a great
addition to any package designers library, filled with examples of some of the
Worlds best. There is a super intro highlighting the important role that
packaging plays within business and the relationship to the consumer.

There are also a number of case studies,
featuring renown package design work for some of the worlds largest businesses,
including M&S foods, R Designs original work for the ‘Food Doctor’
(before Pearlfishers redesign) and Pentag...

In addition to my previous post, this is
the third Nectar Tea tin I am featuring at Retro Design Love and although there
are the obvious similarities, this one is really quite different to the others
I have shown!

This particular tin uses the same type style,
narrative illustrations and decorative pattern elements as the previous two,
however this version uses a totally different ‘rounded’ construct. The colour
palette is also very different and uses tones of blues, silver and cream.

I have shot this wonderful vintage tea tin
in two different locations in South Africa. Once at a bed and breakfast in
Ceres and the other at an Antiques shop in Prince Albert.

The detail in the tin’s design is just
incredible and it has a different image, beautifully illustrated, on each of
its side panels. I have placed images next to each other, from both times that
I have viewed the tin, to help show how the illustrations had changed subtlety
between different production runs.

Vincent Steer (born 1888) was a compositor
and is renown for being the founder of the British Typographers’ Guild.

In 1934, Steer wrote Printing Design and
Layout. The book is a masterpiece and has been referred to as “A Complete
Course in Typography" and as the “Typographer’s Bible”. The book is a
thing of beauty and I was lucky enough to see an original copy, whilst working
with one of my print partners in Cape Town.

This is a super book that works as a handy
reference when aiming your designs at specific customer groups. There are some
great case studies. The book is by Mark Hampshire and Keith Stephenson and is
published by Page One.

In a time before PlayStation, Xbox and
Pokemon Go, was a world of ingenious board games, created to capture the
excitement of the whole family. On a recent visit to my old family home, my brother
and I ventured into the attic where we found this fantastic example of a
1970′s board game.

I love the artwork on the packaging! A
fantastic illustration style, very representative of the time, showing two
young boys engrossed in the enjoyment of the game. The image really
captured the excitement ...

Back in 2013, when my wife was still
pregnant with our son, we had a wonderful and memorable holiday, visiting
KwaZulu-Natal. It was such a special time and I remember us travelling along
the Midlands Meander, a feast for lovers of arts and crafts. I really recommend
a visit!

On route we came across this wonderful
trading post, with the buildings outside lined with vintage signage hoardings
and the inside with an impressive collection of packaging from the past. My
poor pregnant wife literal...

A good friend sent this brilliant
conceptual design for pasta packaging back in March 2016, when it was featured
on the contemporist.
It has since gone viral, appearing on a number of respected design blogs. I
just love how this fun concept uses the different pasta to signify individual
hair styles. Designed by Nikita Konkin.

Made by Stewart & Young in Glasgow, this
stunning early Edwardian candy tin has some really attractive
illustrations, all in a colour palette of dark green, rich red and gold.
Produced as a souvenir for the Scottish National Exhibition of 1908, ‘The
Steamship Brand’ was established to supply all nations. This particular tin
measures approximately 165mm x 120 x 80mm and is a beautiful example of
this brand.

Many years ago, I travelled across the USA.
It was an incredible experience that I will always cherish. Business has kept
me traveling back and I have since designed branding and packaging for some of
the countries largest retailers. One of my memories of my time traveling the US
was the bright branding used by the many of fast food companies. Competition in
the US was so much greater than that of the UK, where at the time I had
travelled from. Now living in Cape Town many of the chains are s... Continue reading ...

World renown branding agency Interbrand, have redesigned
their famous word-mark, in-house. Moving the design into a clean but simple use
of Helvetica, this supports their new look website. You can read more about
interbrand below and can visit the site by clicking here.

On world AIDS day, I thought that it would be a good
oportunity to give a huge shout-out to the amazing work that Vince Frost and
studio Frost Collective are doing with ACON, to end HIV by 2020 in Australia. I
love big ideas and they don't come much bigger than this. Please support the
fantastic work that they are doing. Click here to read more at the Frost
Collective Website. More here!

For the past five years I have had the great pleasure of
being selected as a mentor
for the ico-D and Adobe design Achievement
Awards. This year however, I had the added bonus of also being
chosen as a pre selection judge! I really enjoy what the awards stand for and
it always feels so good to be able to support young design talent!

Below are some of the fantastic young/student designers that
I discovered, whilst judging the awards. There's some amazing talent here! If
your hiring new creative... Continue reading ...

David Carson is arguably one of the worlds most recognised
graphic designers. his experimental, deconstructed typographic style is a
fusion of the commercial and the expressive, graphic design and art.

From 1982 to 1987, Carson worked as a teacher and also at
that time was also a professional surfer, reaching 9th in the world ranking.
Carson himself often attributes his recognisable style to discovering graphic
design and never being taught it. Without knowing any of the rules has allowed
hi...

Australia’s largest airline has introduced a new logo and livery, designed in partnership with Quantas consultant Marc Newson and Australian branding agency Houston group.

In a press release, Quantas write:
The change is only the fifth time the red-and-white image on the tail of Qantas aircraft has been updated since it was first introduced in 1944. The last update was in 2007 to coincide with the introduction of the
Airbus A380 to the national carrier’s fleet.

These wonderful book covers are a taste of what’s to come in this blog.

Our local recycling center has a shop where they sell some of the wonderful things that people bring in. There are some absolute treasures to discover and this is where I bought these beautiful books from the 1940’s. I
will be going inside of each of these stunning publications and sharing some or the wonderful history, later in this blog.

I came across this charming volume, whilst staying over at a friends house. The illustration style is an absolute joy as is the colour palette of green and ochre. The original press was back in 1959, with this beautifully illustrated release being its forth edition in from 1971.

I was at the Vineyard hotel this morning and came upon these
wonderful black and white drawings. Each of the illustrations show a scene of
Cape Town from the 1820’s. You can clearly see the backdrop of Table Mountain
in each of the pictures. The first image is of Newlands in Claremont, where the
Vineyard hotel is, and is dated 1827.

Its just great to enjoy breakfast, outside, on a sunny Sunday morning with friends. Cape Town is such a great venue for this! One place we really enjoy is the ‘Open Door’ at Constantia Uitsig. The
food is great and they have a wonderful play area for the kids.
On this particular visit I was confronted with some wonderful curious objects in the shape of two vintage trophies from the year I was born (1972), plus others from the 1960’s. These were acompanied
by some fantastic old picture... Continue reading ...

I stumbled across these wonderful images of
a 1948 Packard and a 1959 Pontiac at Roger Wilkerson’s wonderful 'The Suburban Legend' blog. I am a regular visitor and can highly recommend a visit.
I just love these two images!

A project that I had the great pleasure to work on, in my previous role at CTTC Design with the brilliant Woolworths beauty team is getting some positive attention at the Woolworths Instagram page. This is the new oval tin that we have just introduced with a flat lid base, for the Longmarket Soap Shops.

I will always remember my first trip to Thailand! It
was one of those life affirming moments, a sensory overload of experience and
learning!!! Travelling has been a great way for me to experience other brands
and how consumers interact with them on a daily basis. Brands that I have never
seen before visiting that country. Brands that are like the ones I grew up with
but different! I love it.

One of the most confusing for me was seeing what look liked
the Red Bull brand, but when I tasted t...

The new logo for Mastercard, designed by Pentagram, has been raising eyebrows online and seems to be dividing the design industry on whether people are in favour or not.

I for one am a huge fan of the new design! I love how Pentagram have looked back at the heritage of the logo and brought back original elements, yet balanced it perfectly to create a brand-mark that is
ultimately very modern and uncluttered. This is most evident within the choice of a clean and modern type style that has ... Continue reading ...

On Friday 24th of June 2016, Britain woke to the realisation
that the majority (52%) had voted to leave the EU. The shock waves that
followed have dominated the news. David Cameron has made the decision to step
down as Prime Minister and the pound is currently at a 31-year low, making
England poorer than France. The FTSE 100 has dropped 8.7pc and ratings agency
S&P have downgraded UK's credit rating from AAA to AA, due to the negative
outlook after the Brexit vote. Labour's shadow cabinet mem... Continue reading ...

A good deal of my branding and packaging design projects are
within the cosmetic and beauty industry and since 2003 I have been travelling
to Cosmoprof and Cosmopack in Bologna, Italy. The fair is the Worlds largest
beauty fair and is a the place to get an insight into the industry's newest
fashions and trends.

Here are some of my brand and packaging highlights from this
years Cosmoprof Bologna fair.

I felt really uncool at this years show. I was one of the
only men without a beard and when I...

Ok, so I am a graphic designer and yes that does mean I am
an Apple user! Ive used an Apple all my professional life but as I was reading
through the brand, design and technology news today, this stunning designed,
new HP laptop was unavoidable to ignore. Its styling and finishing is
just stunning!

Here is what the HP website has to say: This is design and
technology taken to a whole new level. Artisan materials and striking
craftsmanship create an experience unlike anything else. With a un...

This limited addition design to celebrate the 255th anniversary of Porto’s Sandeman is just stunning. The attention to detail used in the design by agency Volta is incredible.

I love the use of type; breaking the serif on the brand name Seixo giving it some real identity. The finish is also beautiful, employing the use of embossed lettering and illustrative elements, texture paper stock and touches of gold foil.

On my recent trip to Bologna I came across these wonderful
old Vintage Sandeman b...

After a number of rigorous design checks, these are the
shortlisted, final four logo's, chosen by the Games selection committee.

A. Harmonized chequered emblem
B. Connecting Circle, Expanding Harmony
C. Surpassing One’s Personal Best
D. Flowering of EmotionsClick here to
visit the link, where you can read more on each selection.

Then, have your say! You can now help make the final
selection by clicking here.

THE PROJECT At least once a year I return back to the UK to visit my family and friends. I get to travel the length and breadth of England, from London and the West Country, up to Lancashire, with a good many stops in between. Whilst there, I always try and... Continue reading ...

French graphic artist Jean Jullien has created a symbol
that is likely to become the most iconic and widely shared image following the
Paris terrorist attacks. Created in an act of spontaneity, it has become a worldwide symbol of solidarity. The symbol is clear proof of the power of visual imagery and how a small but clever change can make such a powerful difference and become iconic in it's own right.

His reworking of the peace symbol cleverly replaces the bomb-like line structure from the or... Continue reading ...

A Taiwanese artist has spent the past four months working on
a life-size car made out of 25,000 cell phones. Lin Shih-Pao has spent
four years travelling the world, collecting old and discarded mobile phones for
the work of art. The installation took four years to complete.
The phones are are glues and nailed around an internal wooden frame. The artist
created the piece of modern art as a way of spreading environmental
awareness and is a statement on the importance of recycling electronic
was... Continue reading ...

For the past three years Ive had the great honour of being selected as a
mentor for the Adobe Design Achievement Awards. The mentorship program
is oganised in collaboration with Adobe and ico-D (the world body for professional design, an international
council that promotes the designer’s vital role in society and commerce that unify the voices of designers worldwide. www.ico-d.org). Throughout my involvement, I have had the pleasure of mentoring some
fantastic students that have gone ont... Continue reading ...

Just the other day I
had a realisation that its been over 20 years since I left university! Two
decade's later I still feel so fortunate to be able to do a job that I
love so much and that challenges me on a daily bases, thanks in part to
some of the fantastic teachers, lecturers and mentors who's lessons back
then still play a role in my thoughts today.

One of my favorite
lessons, that will always stay with me, was being taught the importance
of your work really meaning something to yo... Continue reading ...

Kentucky
Fried Chicken was founded by Harland Sanders, who began selling chicken
from his roadside restaurant in Corbin Kentucky in the 1930's. An
entrepreneur, Sanders identified the potential of franchising his
restaurant concept and the very first "Kentucky Fried Chicken" franchise
opened in Salt Lake City in Utah in 1952 by Pete Harman who was both
the owner of one of the cities largest restaurants and a good friend of
Sanders.

Its spring in Cape Town and this time of year is filled with colour as
the wonderful varieties of flower open up to display an impressive
palette. People travel from far and wide to visit the Westcoast national
park where for a limited time (1 month) the impressive bloom is in its full beauty. I get a lot of my colour ideas from nature and this is such a fantastic time of year to discover brilliant combinations.

I recently moved house. Living in Cape Town
Ive built up quite an impressive collection of local wines and one by one I
pulled out each bottle from the wooden rack and wrapped them in bubble wrap.
Within the collection was one very special bottle and I knew eventually that I
would re discover it. Im not sure I will ever drink it. Not because of the wine
inside (I don't even know what wine is inside!), but isntead for the memor...

"The most important word you use is why?" That was what Sir John Hegarty told the crowd at an inspiring presentation that I was lucky enough to attend back in 2013.

In my role as creative director, I get to brief in the design team. It's important to ensure that everything that goes
through the studio is the best it can be. I have to mentor and up skill creatives and I always love to watch how designers respond
to briefs. Many designers sketch out ideas, others go straight to their computers... Continue reading ...

Over the past months we have seen some very high profile
brand redesigns within the tech sector, including the likes off Google, Opera
and Lenovo. To this end, I thought that it would be interesting to take a brief
look behind the scenes at some of the agencies, processes and rationales that
have been employed within each of the three projects.

GoogleOne of the most publicised re design is that of the Google
logo mark, probably due to that fact that it plays such a huge part of our
daily liv... Continue reading ...

As the creative director of a busy design studio, along with
also being someone who has in the past run my own design practice and worked as
a freelancer, I have come to dislike the use of the word ‘just' and I know that
I am not alone.

I used to come across it a lot. For example; a client who
after signing off a job, gets back in touch and asks, “Can you ‘just’ make a
change for me.” "It’s 'just' something small and I need it quickly."
This usually translates...

I am an avid collector of design books. Its
a real love of mine. I’ve built up quite a comprehensive library and I am
always suggesting or lending my books to my team. Recently, readers of this
blog have also been asking for books recommendations, so I thought that I would
post a few of my favourites.

Symbol by Steven Bateman and Pentagram
partner Angus Hyland has been a valuable source to me when developing logos and
brand identity systems. There are over 1300 logos included with the boo...

Earlier this year Dan Wieden spoke at
Cape Town's Design Indaba conference. Wieden's words have inspired me
for many years, so it was a rare opportunity to hear one of the most
respected authorities on advertising and creative thinking speak in person.

Wieden is probably best know
for co-founding one of the worlds most admired advertising agencies;
Wieden+Kennedy and coining the Nike tagline "Just Do
It." Incidentally Wieden pitched the idea to Nike in 1988 after he
had read a newspaper articl... Continue reading ...

Whist reading through the design press,
this fantastic new book by Jens Müller; 'Logo Modernism', caught my
eye and is now at the top of my Christmas list!

Published by Taschen the book features
approximately 6000 trademarks/logo's, focusing on the forty-year period between
1940 to 1980, a time where Paul Rand, Soul Bass and Massimo Vignelli were
changing the industry with their modernist approach to corporate identity. The
book is divided into three chapters; geometric, effect, and typogr...

2015 saw the inaugural 'Wine Label Design
Awards' in South Africa. What will continue as an annual event has been created
by Winemag.co.za and sponsored by label supplier Rotolabel to help
promote excellence within the field of wine label package design in South
Africa. Its hoped that the awards will raise the standards of what wine
producers demand and designers supply.

This years Awards consisted of
three categories: 1) under R60 a bottle; 2) over R60 a bottle and 3)
labels forming a seri...

I recently became a dad to a wonderful, amazing little boy.
Watching him observe and learn has made me see things with a whole new perspective.Just the other day we were in our garden and he was pointing
to the sky. As much as I looked I couldn’t see what was so interesting to him.
With his limited vocabulary he kept saying “that!” and continued to point with great excitement. I kept looking... Suddenly I
saw it. He was looking at the moon. Something I take for granted every single day ...Continue reading ...

If you’re a regular reader of this blog
then you'll know that I'm a designer who also like’s to write.

Creativity has always been a part of my
life. Some of my earliest memories are of drawing and mark making and it's been
a life long passion that ultimately turned into my profession as a designer.
The recent addition of writing about all things creative has been a
natural and organic extension of my love for what I do.

If your a reader of this blog, then you will know that I'm both a dad to a one year old and also the creative director of a design studio. As you can imagine, I don't get too much downtime and only get to write in a very small window, often late at night and on the weekend.My family, then my commercial design work always take priority in my life and it's become more evident to me that I'm getting less time for my hobbies such as writing my blog. I'm cool with it! I love being a family man and...Continue reading ...

In my Classic Brands series, I am going to feature interesting facts and
a brief history to some of the world
most iconic branding and packaging designs. I couldn't think of a better
place to begin the series than with the worlds very first registered
Trade Mark.

A great conversational piece at any dinner party is the question, ‘what
was the world’s first brand identity?’ The answer is the instantly
identifiable red-triangle of the Bass Pale Ale logo. This distinctive
identity wa... Continue reading ...

In 1974 Walter Herdeg edited issue 165 of Graphis Diagrams, a square
hardback book showing the scientific side of graphic design. It contains
beautifully illustrated, full colour diagrams of abstract data and
theres also some lovely multi layered maps that use transparent papers.
The cover is a fantastic example of the modernist Swiss style of type
and design. It really is a thing of beauty, an iconic classic and I once
had a copy, or should I say, I may still have a copy... Somewhere! ... Continue reading ...

Back
in 2011 I attended a presentation by David Butler, Coca-Cola's VP of
innovation and he outlined how the company were using revolutionary
systems to operate on a global scale. This included designing their
vending machines so that they could be easily modified to accommodate
the vast stable of brands owned by the company and interchangeable
languages for use throughout the world. David's presentation was an
inspiration in creating modular systems.

Earlier this month (the 3rd of July 2015), marked the 30th anniversary of the release of the original 'Back to the Future' movie. It features the
fantastic quote: "Roads! Where were going we don't need roads."

The 1980's were such a golden time for me growing up and this particular movie
played it's part in my transition from a boy to a young adult. Yep I was one of
those kids that sported the Marty McFly inspired look which included a body
warmer, the tongues of my ankle high sports shoe s... Continue reading ...

Burger King as a brand has long interested me. Ive spent time in
Australia where the franchise is instead known as Hungry Jacks. In 1971
the company wanted to make a move into Australia with it's first
franchise in Perth but was unable to use the Burger King name as it was
already trademarked by an Adelaide based Food Shop.

I am
currently living in South Africa and Burger King only arrived here in
2013, with it's first franchise opening in the may of that year in Cape
Town. This was 18 ... Continue reading ...

Facebook has a new corporate identity designed in collaboration with it's in house team and Process Type Foundry’s Eric
Olson. Although the new brand mark is a subtle move on there are a
number of changes. Generally the characters are a lot more rounded
(especially the ‘e’ and ‘o’). The original logos 'f' and 'a' worked
together whereas the new logo has a single story ‘a’, The ‘b’ now has a
prominent stem and overall its less bold in weight than the original.

My first visit to the US was to Florida. It was way back in 2000 and I
traveled there to complete a course in sky diving. On the drive to the
airfield each morning we would often make a stop at the local IHOP
(international House of Pancakes) restaurant to fill up on food before
an exhilarating day of jumping out of a perfectly good aeroplane! I
always remember the poster on the window of that particular IHOP which
read "Steak isn't just for breakfast!". For a small town boy from the
w... Continue reading ...

This fantastic poster campaign by King James for the city of Cape
Town was launched earlier this year and features a number of well known
local personalities, including singer Jimmy Nevis, DJ Ian Bredenkamp,
comedian Siv Ngesi and even the Mayor Patricia De Lille (to name just a
few) in a fight against substance abuse. I'm a great supporter of this
campaign. Its strong photography and use of bold clean typography is
brilliant, but like the celebrities, I also have a problem but mines no... Continue reading ...

I have the highest of regard for local newspapers and for those who
create them. I know firsthand the work that goes into each issue. If I
ever travel somewhere new, a local newspaper is a great way to get an
insight into the lives of the people who live there. They are often
papers for locals put together by locals and neighbourhoods benefit
greatly from their work. Just brilliant! I write this blog out of
positivity so it's with the greatest of respect that I write this post.

This is one of those cover designs that every now and then shoots into
my head. I worked as an art editor for a publishing company for many
years and I know firsthand the importance of a cover design to really
scream out from the shelf. With so many magazines vying for real-estate
why would anyone buy yours! In a sea of red and luminous colours this
November 1999 cover for Vanity Fair resonated from the shelves by doing
the exact opposite and being minimal.

As I pulled up to the traffic lights today I was completely taken when I
saw this eye catching cover to the recent edition of the Big Issue. I
enjoyed the cover for so many reasons. Firstly the use of typography and
colour to instantly connect with the audience is fantastic!

The bright
colours and the way that the designer has skilfully used hierarchy
within the typesetting really captures you! I also like how the size of
the logo header is kept to a minimum to give more gravatas to th... Continue reading ...

Reading through the newspapers this weekend (01 July 2015) I came across this advert for the new Century City Conference Centre, opening in Cape Town in February 2016. I really like the branding that cleverly encompasses the four 'C's from the name and the clean type selection that's used in two weights. I also thought that the advert was very well executed. All in all a nice piece of work. Click here to read more about this exciting new project.

I have a belief that love and hard work go
hand in hand! I strongly believe that if you don't love what you do then you'll
be unable to dedicate yourself fully to it and it's unlikely you'll
be able to produce great work! It may be hard work to get out of bed and drive
to the office each morning. It may be hard work to get through each day, but
that doesn't mean that your actually working hard at what you do! if you don't
love what you do then how can you invest yourself t...

More than any other book, this is the one that I suggest to all that I mentor or employ. Even after his death in 1996, Paul Rand is still viewed as one of the (if not the) most celebrated graphic designer(s) of our time. Although a skilled master at book and poster design, Rand is best known for his brand identity work, including his logos for IBM, ABC, UPS and Steve Jobs Company Next. Rand was one of the first American
designers to use the clean 'Swiss Style' of graphic design. He was a prof... Continue reading ...

In 2014 we sadly lost one of designs true pioneers Massimo Vignelli. In 2011 I had the great pleasure to meet Massimo. He had re branded one of South Africa's largest retailers who were also clients of the business that I was creative director for. I had been kindly invited to Massimo's Cape Town leg of his 80th birthday that coincided with the Design Indaba. It's not everyday you get to meet one of your heroes and this meeting will always stay with me.

Michael Bierut is without doubt one of the
most admired and respected designers of our time. Ive had the great fortune to
meet Michael twice and both times I have walked away feeling
incredibly inspired by his immense knowledge of design. Even with his notoriety
and industry standing, he comes across as unassuming, humorous and with a
great deal of warmth. He was a real pleasure to speak with about design. He has
hosted the Cape Town's Design Indaba for many years and this is where on both
oc... Continue reading ...

As an active member of the AIGA, I fully
support the organisation and their initiatives. Below I have featured an
article that outlines their design for good program, which is creating projects
that have a positive social impact that benefits the world, our country and our
communities. Please get involved and support the fantastic work that the AIGA
are doing. Read more here.

Britain's Design Council champion great ideas that make things better and ultimately improves lives. This was illustrated perfectly by David Kester in his 2011presentation at Cape Town's Design Indaba. His speech focused on a challenge that the Design Council made to Britain's top designers and manufacturers to reduce infection rates within the NHS. Companies worked in collaboration to produce innovative hospital furniture and equipment that improved usability, storage and made them easier an... Continue reading ...

In 2011 I had the great pleasure of attending a presentation by Diebedo Francis Kere at Cape Town's Design Indaba. Kere spoke with so much integrity and told a story that brought some in the
auditorium to tears.

After finishing his degree in architecture
at Technische Universität in Berlin he chose to return to his home town of
Gando in Burkina Faso and to use his education to help re build his community.
Using the limited materials that were available in Gando, Kere worked with his
communi...

This wonderful collection of vintage and
rare beer packaging from all over the world can be seen at the Wild Clover
micro Brewery. A veritable feast for any branding and packaging
designer/vintage packaging enthusiast like myself!

The owner Ampie Kruger kindly let me take these images of the full
collection of labels whilst telling me the amazing story of how it was donated
to him. Apparently the original collectors wife insisted that he give this
incredible treasure away!!!

In a recent interview for a design magazine
I was asked, "who and what inspires me". It's a question that I am
often asked and my initial reply is usually "everything", from my
family (my wife and son are without a doubt my biggest inspiration) to the
great icons of our industry such as Paul Rand and Soul Bass to the the work of
Henryk Thomaszewski, Jan Lenica and Henri Matisse (the list could go on and on
and on…) I wake up inspired almost every morning and by the time I am in my studio,
o... Continue reading ...

I’ve been living in South Africa for almost
six years now and anyone that knows me will also know that I am an avid
collector of anything of visual interest. In fairness most would think what I
find visually interesting strange. It can be anything from a texture on a wall,
aged billboard signs, street art, old architecture to vintage branding, signage
and packaging design. The cell phone camera and large hard drives have saved my
family home from a man cave cluttered with all the stuff. In ...

Back in 1990, aged just 18, I can still clearly remember using four software packages. There was Aldus PageMaker and Freehand, an animation package called swivel and then there was Adobe Photoshop. Since then, Adobe Photoshop has been a good friend of mine. Its been with me throughout my design career. In 2013 I was interviewed for Advanced Photoshop Magazine and over the past two years (2013/14) I have been a mentor for the Icograda indorsed Adobe Design Achievement Awards. Without doubt, Ph... Continue reading ...

In another new series for the Design Life,
I wanted to write about some of histories design icons. Everything around us
has at some point been designed. The designers who produce the worlds most
recognised symbols, branding and packaging, play a role in our daily lives, but
the designers themselves seldom get the notoriety or the similar celebrity that
is awarded to those who work in the world of music, film, sport, fashion, art
or even product design (Jonathan Ive, Philip...

The World-renowned 'design Indaba'
conference takes place each year in February at Cape Town’s CTICC conference centre.
The event sits at the top of the design community’s calendar with the three-day
program including presentations and insight from both the worlds most
established and celebrated creative professionals along with local up and
coming talent.

Renowned graphic designer Michael Bierut has helped host the conference since
2010 and will be returned this year...

A huge thanks to my company CTTC Design and
Nedbank for the invitation to the premier of 'Refuse the Hour", a
chamber opera (performance art) by South Africa's most internationally
acclaimed artist, William Kenteridge.

The venue for the evenings performance
was the Cape Town City Hall. It always feels like such an honour to be inside
this important and beautiful building. The very same place that in
February 11th 1990, Nelson Mandela, standing on the balcony, made his fi...

In 2013 I attended the Design Educators Indaba, which endeavoured to create a forum for educators within design to engage with each other and to increase their knowledge of creative education.
The event followed the three-day Design Indaba conference in Cape Town.
The seminar was hosted by Neville Brody - world-renowned designer, professor and
Dean of the School of Communication at the Royal College of Art in London along
with Lawrence Zeegen, (Dean of Design at London College of Communicati... Continue reading ...

My family and I recently visited 'The Art
of the Brick' exhibition which is currently on show in Cape Town. The
exhibition by artist Nathan Sawaya is unique in that it's constructed
completely from Lego blocks!

There's a short film as you enter the exhibition, where Sawaya tells the
compelling story of his journey from an unhappy lawyer to an inspired and
celebrated artist with his work from Lego blocks. He speaks about believing in
yourself and doing the things that you ...

This ground-breaking scheme is the outcome of a collaboration between the Arrels foundation and advertising agency The Cyranos Mcann, both based in Barcelona. The project combines creativity, typography and social commitment to give the homeless a voice and dignity back into their lives. All
profits go towards food, shelter and social health for the people supported by the Arrels Foundation.

I was so glad to see that this fantastic initiative had gained a massive online
following last year. T... Continue reading ...

In a new series for the design life, I am going to be writing about success, specifically success within the field of design. In this first installment I want to discuss what success really means? Then over the forthcoming series we will strive to break down what it takes to achieve and maintain success.

I did an exercise a while ago to try and visualise what it takes to be a
success within my chosen creative field. I thought it would be fun to feature
it in the opening illustration to this ... Continue reading ...

In today's world of business a brand is likely to be a corporation’s most valuable asset. It's the DNA of most
companies and represents everything that a business or its products stand for. An example of this is Apple's minimalist branding that depicts quality and craftsmanship whilst Oxfam's visual language illustrates a non profit charity with a logo that looks like it hadn't been designed by an
agency, although of course it more than lightly has been! Brands have become the fabric of our... Continue reading ...

I am an avid collector of design books and on a recent trip back to the UK, I stumbled across a fantastic book containing a veritable gold mine of vintage Sainsbury’s packaging, chronicling the years
1962 to 1977.

The books forward tells the story of the author, Jonny Trunk and his search for
a particular 1970 Sainsbury’s pack design for cornflakes that he had memories
of from his childhood. On calling the retailers head office, he discovers that
there’s a huge archive of pristine Sai... Continue reading ...

Colour plays such an essential role in the identity of a brand. Think of the
blue used in the Facebook logo, Caterpillars yellow or Home Depots orange. Then
there's Coca Cola's red that's such a strong identity that it even managed to
change the colour of Santa clause! But with this in mind, should these
company's be allowed to own that specific colour?

The confectionary company Cadbury lost a five year court battle to register
their disti... Continue reading ...

I recently became a dad to a wonderful, amazing little baby boy and he is definitely the most loved new addition to my design life.

Whilst my wife was still pregnant, we decided that we did not want to know the
babies sex before the birth and loved the idea of it being a surprise. This
however was met with some shock and surprise from a good many of our friends
who just couldn't believe that we wouldn't want to know this in advance. How
could we possibly prepare if we didn't know what colou... Continue reading ...

This is my first post featuring my deep
interest for vintage branding and packaging design. My fascination began whilst
a student where we would often visit the Robert Opie museum of vintage
packaging at the Gloucester Docks in England. From that point on I was hooked
and it's since grown into a leisure pursuit (some might say obsession) of mine,
with my poor wife and son often having our trips away interrupted with me
snapping away at old boxes and signs. The invention of...

Welcome to The Design Life. I
have created this site to encourage topical discussion on creativity and
innovation, celebrating both the beauty and success of the finished
product, along with the journey and the processes involved.

I want us to talk about inspiration, ideas and where they come from,
taking risks, failing and succeeding. The Design Life is a place where I wont
be taking anything for granted. I'm going to be asking why a lot. There
will be design resources,...